Angels News: Phil Nevin Says Shohei Ohtani Didn’t Suffer Setback, Still Planning on Playing This Year

It seems that they may be delaying the inevitable.

Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani was scheduled to be in the lineup Monday against the Seattle Mariners, until he wasn’t. Ohtani was scratched after going through his pre-game routine, causing him to miss his eighth straight game.

He has been out dealing with oblique tightness and just didn’t feel ready to go. But manager Phil Nevin doesn’t see it as a setback for the two-way superstar.

“I don’t necessarily think it’s a setback, he just still has some soreness in there when he lets it go,” Nevin said. “He didn’t think he would have that today, but when he got in there, he did.”

Per The OC Register

With only a few weeks left in the season, and the Angels all but eliminated, it doesn’t make a ton of sense for Ohtani to play. There isn’t a point to possibly reinjure himself or get hurt even worse with where the team is. But Ohtani is the ultimate competitor, and he wants to try to win games with his teammates. Nevin added on to his comments.

“Where that puts us as far as tomorrow? I don’t know. Is he gonna come here and try it again? I don’t know. Those are conversations that he and I are going to have. Yesterday he was very confident that he would feel fine enough to play today and then it just didn’t happen.”

Per The OC Register

Ohtani has been shut down as a pitcher for the rest of the season after suffering a torn UCL a few weeks ago. But he has tried to continue hitting before the oblique issue. 

However, it could make sense to be shut down for the rest of the season to go deal with the UCL tear. Right now, it seems that they are only delaying the inevitable.

With his free agency coming up in a few months, it could be smart to get out in front of this injury to have as short of a recovery time as possible. The Angels aren’t making the playoffs, so there isn’t a point in Ohtani trying to play through things. But right now, both sides remain intent on him trying to give it a go.